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HARRY HOUDINI: Ladies and gentlemen: introducing my original invention, the water torture cell...
That’s Harry Houdini, in 1914, describing the water torture cell, in which he emerges from an upside-down dunk tank imprisonment. A new exhibition at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco explores the life and legacy of the great escape artist. Brother and sister team Molly and Seth Samuel ducked in to see what the show reveals.
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Broadcast History
KALW 91.7FM:
October 31, 2011
Transcript
SETH SAMUEL: There’s a Houdini quote printed on the wall as you enter this gallery at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. It says:
MOLLY SAMUEL: “Will wonders never cease?”
S. SAMUEL: They won’t – not in this show, anyway. It doesn’t reveal anything about how Houdini did his tricks.
M. SAMUEL: It does explore why he did them. And what he meant – and actually, still means – to people.
S. SAMUEL: Dara Solomon is a curator at the museum. She meets us up front for a tour.
DARA SOLOMON: Houdini was born in Budapest, in Hungary, and he came over to the United States with his family when he was about four years old. He was born in 1874.
S. SAMUEL: Houdini’s given name was Ehrich Weiss (born Erik Weisz).
M. SAMUEL: The family moved to America when his father, who was a rabbi, was hired by a synagogue in Wisconsin. The job didn’t pan out, and they ended up in New York. Houdini, some of his b...
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